THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997 TAG: 9701060047
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 33 lines
Officials of the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority will get an opportunity today to chart its future - complete with a new vision.
For the first time in the agency's history, the Board of Commissioners will gather - with help of a consultant - in a special meeting to set goals for 1997.
The meeting is a follow-up to the authority's first retreat, held last September. During that session, the commissioners worked with Creative Solutions, a Portsmouth-based firm, to create a mission and build team skills.
``We're starting from scratch,'' Executive Director Clarissa E. McAdoo said. ``There are a lot of areas that need improvement within housing operations and development operations. This gives the board a chance to set clear goals that I will follow.''
During the past three years, the authority has suffered from a tarnished image that some city officials and residents said resulted from lack of communication and a strategy to improve the city's housing stock.
By setting goals, McAdoo said, the authority can begin to work on improving the community. The authority will begin working with the city this month to rehabilitate Orlando - a neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown Suffolk.
The housing authority owns and operates 466 public housing units in five communities and manages more than 1,200 subsidized-rent units.
Commissioner Mary Richardson said the meeting is a good idea.
``We just need to get the things done and not just talk about it,'' said Richardson. ``I want our goals to become a reality.''
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at 530 E. Pinner St.